Dad of 8 needs skooled
- Thread starter beyns
- Start date
milkmania
Senior Member
triple bunks
OK, I made a set of 5' long bunks along one side, for the smaller kids, and a set of 6' long bunks along the other side, for the taller ones. There's only like 25" between the bunks, but all the kids were able to get in and out without trouble. I fit in the bottom and middle, but was a bit too old/fat/lazy/grumpy/hot/tired/bored to attempt the top one. I'm 6'2" and about 250lbs. I will take a photo for you when I get a chance.
Also slapped a strip of LED lights down the middle of the ceiling, wired into the dome lights. Works a treat, and provides plenty of low-draw light for our needs. Just need to replace the dome light bulbs with LED ones now.
Have decided to go with a mini-fridge and a portable AirCon that will run off a generator that is outside, on a metal rear luggage deck. Advice for welding a deck/steps/generator rack/barbecue on the back? Advice on whether to get a 2000 or 3000 or 4000 Generator?
:Thanx:
OK, I made a set of 5' long bunks along one side, for the smaller kids, and a set of 6' long bunks along the other side, for the taller ones. There's only like 25" between the bunks, but all the kids were able to get in and out without trouble. I fit in the bottom and middle, but was a bit too old/fat/lazy/grumpy/hot/tired/bored to attempt the top one. I'm 6'2" and about 250lbs. I will take a photo for you when I get a chance.
Also slapped a strip of LED lights down the middle of the ceiling, wired into the dome lights. Works a treat, and provides plenty of low-draw light for our needs. Just need to replace the dome light bulbs with LED ones now.
Have decided to go with a mini-fridge and a portable AirCon that will run off a generator that is outside, on a metal rear luggage deck. Advice for welding a deck/steps/generator rack/barbecue on the back? Advice on whether to get a 2000 or 3000 or 4000 Generator?
:Thanx:
rock649
Advanced Member
You need to figure out your start up wattage. When you use a jenny... never start everything at once. First the ac...then plug in the fridge...anyways add up all your watts and thats the generator you need. Say the ac needs 2500 watts to start and then settles down to 1000...next you fire up your fridge and it needs 1800 watts to start up...so 1000 plus 1800 is 2800 watts...but after your fridge settles down it runs on say 600 watts....then the total load will be 1600 watts. However if you start the ac and the fridge both at once...the gen gets slammed with a demand for 4300 watts on a combined start up....which can fry things if it isnt a 5000 watt generator. These values are only examples...you have to look at your ac and fridge manuals to get the proper numbers!!!
PS...you have tons of room between the frame and the side of the bus...you can put things like belly boxes, extra fuel tanks, grey and black water tanks...maybe even a generator if you exhaust it out from underneath the bus...Im cutting my sides out for belly boxes.
PS...you have tons of room between the frame and the side of the bus...you can put things like belly boxes, extra fuel tanks, grey and black water tanks...maybe even a generator if you exhaust it out from underneath the bus...Im cutting my sides out for belly boxes.
Last edited:
gbstewart
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Posts
- 1,208
what happens when the little kids get taller? are you going to have to turn the 5 foot bunks to 6 foot bunk? lol
gbstewart
gbstewart
Thanks, rock. Does a Genny in the belly get dirty?
nat_ster
Senior Member
We need pics, or none of this happened.
Without pics, I don't even bother reading the thread.
Nat
Without pics, I don't even bother reading the thread.
Nat
rock649
Advanced Member
Not if it's in it's own box!! :biggrin:
Tango-SKO
Senior Member
Setting a genset on bumper or deck is pretty easy. If you go the belly box route, it is critical that the exhaust is sealed and routed in such a way as not to kill you in your sleep...and...the box itself needs sufficient airflow for cooling. That typically means building in a fan or two that runs anytime the gen motor does. Not a big deal, but not to be forgotten either.
As noted above, the gen, like your battery bank, should be sized according to your anticipated load. There are several online RV electrical load calculators that are very handy for putting numbers to various appliances & such.
Best of luck and post some pix.
As noted above, the gen, like your battery bank, should be sized according to your anticipated load. There are several online RV electrical load calculators that are very handy for putting numbers to various appliances & such.
Best of luck and post some pix.
Carrie-SKO
New Member
We have 4 kids (and maybe more in the future), and for a while I had been tossing around the idea of turning around row 1 seats and removing row 2 seats to make a double dinette in the front (just like your plans). I kept getting stuck on the safety "problem" of kids riding backwards, so I thought that was a deal-breaker. But then my husband casually mentioned today that their car seats are, in fact, designed to be used forward facing OR rear facing (plus, the Tesla Model S has rear facing seats - so the concept does exist for cars).
Eureka! That solves it - front double-dinette it is!
BTW - I love your layout, and we might end up copying many of your ideas for our build out.
Eureka! That solves it - front double-dinette it is!
BTW - I love your layout, and we might end up copying many of your ideas for our build out.
You'll need seatbelts.
In Canada school busses don't have seat belts because the seat in front catches each kid.
If you remove a row, or flip a row, or both, you'll have to be sure that the people facing forward are not catapulted into the people facing backwards, in the event of an accident.
An adult flying forwards at 30mph carries the equivalent Newtons of a charging elephant.
In Canada school busses don't have seat belts because the seat in front catches each kid.
If you remove a row, or flip a row, or both, you'll have to be sure that the people facing forward are not catapulted into the people facing backwards, in the event of an accident.
An adult flying forwards at 30mph carries the equivalent Newtons of a charging elephant.
Tango-SKO
Senior Member
Man...that's a lot of Fig Newtons!
Carrie-SKO
New Member
Oh, I know it. I've been driving myself crazy with the safety of the seating in our bus. 
Buses in the US usually don't have seatbelts, either - likewise because the higher seat backs catch the flying kids (and because school bus drivers are so highly trained). But the other reason that doesn't get reported often is this: when you attach kids to the bus seats with seatbelts, it increases the load on the seats in the event of a crash - so much so that there have been incidents where the bolts that hold the seats to the floor have ripped through the sheet metal, causing the seats (with children attached) to catapult forward in a twisting way since they usually stay attached to the sidewall.
We considered welding LATCHes onto our seats, but have decided against it, since I doubt we could get the welds strong enough (researching the LATCH system, I've found out that the lower anchors are supposed to withstand 1.8 tons of force each in a crash, while the tether anchor is supposed to withstand 2.4 tons of force - so that's 6 tons of force PER KID, or 12 tons PER SEAT). But then I also learned that a lot of vehicles' LATCHes fail in crashes anyway, and I also reason that a 15 ton bus is going to decelerate more slowly than a minivan in a crash - unless, of course, you crash head-on into another bus or a mountain or something of significant mass).
Anyway, in the end, we decided to go with the complete overkill method, and reinforce the steel floor to prevent the bolts from ripping through, and we'll attach the car seats to the bus seat bars with reinforced straps that are used in industrial settings to lift many tons of weight. I am probably overthinking this, but the automotive industry has many decades of experience in safety features, and I'm sure they know something I haven't thought of.
Buses in the US usually don't have seatbelts, either - likewise because the higher seat backs catch the flying kids (and because school bus drivers are so highly trained). But the other reason that doesn't get reported often is this: when you attach kids to the bus seats with seatbelts, it increases the load on the seats in the event of a crash - so much so that there have been incidents where the bolts that hold the seats to the floor have ripped through the sheet metal, causing the seats (with children attached) to catapult forward in a twisting way since they usually stay attached to the sidewall. We considered welding LATCHes onto our seats, but have decided against it, since I doubt we could get the welds strong enough (researching the LATCH system, I've found out that the lower anchors are supposed to withstand 1.8 tons of force each in a crash, while the tether anchor is supposed to withstand 2.4 tons of force - so that's 6 tons of force PER KID, or 12 tons PER SEAT). But then I also learned that a lot of vehicles' LATCHes fail in crashes anyway, and I also reason that a 15 ton bus is going to decelerate more slowly than a minivan in a crash - unless, of course, you crash head-on into another bus or a mountain or something of significant mass).
Anyway, in the end, we decided to go with the complete overkill method, and reinforce the steel floor to prevent the bolts from ripping through, and we'll attach the car seats to the bus seat bars with reinforced straps that are used in industrial settings to lift many tons of weight. I am probably overthinking this, but the automotive industry has many decades of experience in safety features, and I'm sure they know something I haven't thought of.
You'll need seatbelts.
My seatbelts are primarily focused on keeping the children in their seats. Whilst it is absolutely imperative that you plan for a collision, you must also deal with the more likely probability that an unsecured child will decide to move across or down the gangway at the exact moment you brake or turn a corner, causing them to topple. Admittedly any injury sustained is likely to be a concussion or laceration at worst, still, the increased likelihood means it must be factored into the equation. I had my lap belts custom made. They are aeroplane ones that are long enough to be anchored into the floor. More modern buses have "seat belt ready" seats, with additional steel tubing in the frame, but mine does not appear to have these. The other option is to install minivan seats with built in 3 point belts, from the pick n pull.
My seatbelts are primarily focused on keeping the children in their seats. Whilst it is absolutely imperative that you plan for a collision, you must also deal with the more likely probability that an unsecured child will decide to move across or down the gangway at the exact moment you brake or turn a corner, causing them to topple. Admittedly any injury sustained is likely to be a concussion or laceration at worst, still, the increased likelihood means it must be factored into the equation. I had my lap belts custom made. They are aeroplane ones that are long enough to be anchored into the floor. More modern buses have "seat belt ready" seats, with additional steel tubing in the frame, but mine does not appear to have these. The other option is to install minivan seats with built in 3 point belts, from the pick n pull.
nat_ster
Senior Member
Just ditch the school bus seats, and replace them with mini van seats from pick and pull.
Most mini van seats are on quick release mounts, and have built in seat belts.
Fabbing mounts in the bus floor to keep this quick release feature is easy.
This will get you way better seats, more comfort, they recline, and less work than trying to install seat belts on crappy bus seats.
Nat
Most mini van seats are on quick release mounts, and have built in seat belts.
Fabbing mounts in the bus floor to keep this quick release feature is easy.
This will get you way better seats, more comfort, they recline, and less work than trying to install seat belts on crappy bus seats.
Nat
Jolly Roger-SKO
Senior Member
I built my own seats along the exterior wall. Bought 3-point seat belts from j.c. Whitney at around $20 each. Most are through bolted in the chair rail,one is bolted through the floor with a 6"x 6"x 1/4" galvanized top and bottom as a washer and the 3rd point is through bolted through the main rib's between the windows.
At the time we did this I had salvaged a lot of free framing material and finished plywood and my wife wasn't working so she made cushions while I framed and we bought seatbelts. That was cheaper than buying van seats for us and J.C. Whitney was a reasonable source for some of our things.
Good luck on your adventure
At the time we did this I had salvaged a lot of free framing material and finished plywood and my wife wasn't working so she made cushions while I framed and we bought seatbelts. That was cheaper than buying van seats for us and J.C. Whitney was a reasonable source for some of our things.
Good luck on your adventure
barbar0ssa
Advanced Member
We have seatbelt ready seats so we picked up belts from Summit Racing. For the tables on the two dinettes, we are making taking a 6' folding lifetime table and disassembling it. We will add a 3/4" rod to one side (hinge rod can only stay with one of the two halves) and then we have 2 nice half-folding tables of just about perfect size for $50. Each half will still fold nicely. I have to figure out how I am going to make the cleat to mount it to the wall...
I really think two dinettes with seat belt seating for 11 is the way to go for a bus with a large family.
I really think two dinettes with seat belt seating for 11 is the way to go for a bus with a large family.
MetalMomma04
New Member
We've got 8 kids also, 5 boys 3 girls. We just started our conversion. Only have seats out right now but I'm working on ripping up flooring today.
ArmyChap
Advanced Member
Barbar0ssa: Do you have pictures? I'd love to see this in action!
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